Russell Jones
Sustainability Problems
Film Annotation X
The film Addicted to Plastic was released in 2007 and was directed Ian Connacher. The central argument of this film is that the world is addicted to the use of plastic products as they are used in the manufacturing and final products of almost everything. These plastics are polluting the ocean. The film draws out the issues of pollution by plastics, which are mostly all no degradable. It also highlights the environmental harms to fish and birds from mistaking plastic for food.
The most persuasive parts of the film were the birds being dissected in order to remove the plastic from their stomachs. A shocking statistic is that 46000 pieces of plastic exist in the ocean per square mile. Small and seemingly insignificant resin pellets turn into poison pills when they absorb fuels and oils. I was not compelled by the issues with recycling as we have been exposed to these already, the point of intervention should be with the manufacturers using plastic bottles and packaging in excess.
The film compels me to dig deeper into discovering ways to intervene with the production of plastic bottles, and in what manner they can be recycled properly such as the railroad tie example, and Patagonia. Another example is Georgia Based Interface Carpet with their Cool Blue Technology.
The film best addresses everyday plastic users, especially young professions whose consumptions are based around consumption. If the film were do include points of intervention such as reusable personal containers and less consumption. The film suggests that intervention be provided in to from of innovation use of plastics for new products such as cool blue, Patagonia, etc. The film could have included simple ways for the average person to reduce the need for in order to reduce the demand for plastic products. It did have a good amount scientific literacy to it, however some scenes were dragged out, such as the ocean exploration.
Sustainability Problems
Film Annotation X